The Intelligent Gamblergambler™
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$1.95 The Intelligent GamblerGambler™ © 1996 ConJelCo, All Rights Reserved Number 6, November 1996 tions to that. Most of the tournament Advanced Players and High-Low Split Publisher’s Corner players don’t play the side games very Poker for Advanced Players, are by far Chuck Weinstock well. It seems to me, the people getting superior to anything else on the market Welcome to issue number six of The rich are the successful side game players, and David’s Theory of Poker, we feel is Intelligent Gambler. Due to space con- not the successful tournament players. the best poker book ever written. siderations, I’m going to keep my So basically, I stay in the side games. IG: Would you allow that there could be remarks to a minimum and let the con- IG: Will Espin (Tropicana, Atlantic City) differences of opinion on how to play tent speak for itself. wrote an article recently and has actually and that these differences of opinion I would like to call your attention to two said to me privately that he thinks tour- might be valid? things. First of all, we are about to pub- naments are bad for poker. MM: No. Generally no. This is actually a lish a re-edited edition of Stuart Perry’s MM: I have to agree with him very very good question. I actually believe wonderful Las Vegas Blackjack Diary. strongly there. I think that events like the that in limit Hold’em, in full games espe- See the What’s New section for details. World Series of Poker are great events cially when the games are fairly loose, As our mailing list has grown, we are and are good for poker, but the prolifera- there is a correct way to play. There’s no still struggling with how to deal with the tion of tournaments in general I think is variation to that. Once the game gets increased cost of sending out The Intelli- bad for the poker. They take too much short handed particularly and against gent Gambler. Beginning with the next money out of the poker economy. They better players then there’s a lot of varia- issue we are going to prune our mailing pull too much money into one spot, tion. But generally in the games I play in list. If we haven’t heard from you since which means that it often doesn’t come there’s a correct way to play and any 1994, this will be your last issue. If back into the poker economy and they other way is incorrect. you’ve ordered from us in the last two burn up players’ bank rolls too fast. In IG: So you have an introductory book, years, or have requested to stay on the general, I think the poker industry would for Hold’em and then the advanced book list during that time period there is no be much better off with a lot less tourna- for Hold’em. What about the someone need to do anything. The rest of you ments. who wants to get into stud? Do you have should send us a note if you want to stay IG: Yet a lot of people enjoy smaller tour- any recommendation? Your advanced active. naments as a relatively cheap form of book is certainly the place to go once entertainment... you’ve got some experience, but is that An Interview with Mason Malmuth MM: People enjoy all sorts of things. I the place to start? Mason Malmuth have nothing against tournaments per-se. MM: Well I think the stud section in Part Two I never liked having to sit someplace for Doyle Brunson’s Super System is fairly In January of this year I was fortunate 7 to 8 hours and leave with nothing and good. and our stud book is the best. enough to be able to sit down with I’ve always found the side games to be Essentially I don’t see much else out on Mason Malmuth for an extended inter- much more profitable. stud. There’s a couple new things that view. The subjects were far ranging. Part On How to Become an Expert have come out that I haven’t looked at one appeared in the last issue. Part three IG: Earlier you suggested that to become yet. I don’t see anything else out on stud will appear in the next issue. an expert player you have to read books that I would recommend. On Tournaments on poker. Do you have any recommenda- IG: A lot of people like the Percy book. IG: Do you play tournament’s at all? I tions? Do you have an opinion on that? don’t recall hearing of you playing one. MM: Obviously I’m going to recom- MM; I guess it’s all right if you’re start- MM: Very rarely. I’ve played a few in my mend our own books. I think that they’re ing. I mean it’s been along time since lifetime, but I’ve never enjoyed them. clearly the best books. If you’re new to I’ve read it. It didn’t say a lot of stupid Basically the way I see it, the side game poker I think David Sklansky’s original The Intelligent Gambler is published on an players are the ones that win all the Hold’em book, which is called Hold’em irregular basis by ConJelCo as a service to our money. It seems like the people who hit a Poker is the place to start. I think our customers. ConJelCo, 132 Radcliff Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15237. 412-492-9210, 800-492- tournament or two just shoot it off in the advanced books: Hold’em Poker for 9210. Fax: 412-492-9031. [email protected], side games. I’ve seen very few excep- Advanced Players, Seven Card Stud for http://www.conjelco.com. ♠ Intelligent Gambler 1 things as some of the books say, but I counts are just about as good and Profes- good player, and I always enjoy watching guess it’s all right to start with. sional Blackjack is certainly a must read. him and discussing his play. He said, “Lee, IG: Are you working on any more poker IG: The Red Seven isn’t bad. It’s not as you’ve got to get into this game.” I books at this point? good for shoe games I guess. demurred until I saw a woman make it MM: I’m putting together Poker Essays MM: Right, but any count, the Zen count, three bets cold with Q8-off-suit pre-flop. I volume II (now available). I have about Wong’s high-low count. They’re all fairly sat down, endured some wild swings, and four years worth of articles that have been good and they all achieve roughly the cashed out a small (for that game) win. published in the magazines, but I haven’t same. Consistently, I saw people make inexcus- made a book yet. So it will probably come IG: Do you have another blackjack book ably bad calls, the hallmark of bad play. I out later this year. And Sklansky and I plan in you at this point? saw a lot of bad bets and raises, but it’s always harder to fault somebody for giv- to write a new book. It is tentatively titled MM: No. Everything about blackjack is ing his opponent an opportunity to fold. Gambling For a Living and should be out. The problem in blackjack is that it is This time, I saw people calling two and available early next year. We believe that it not getting better, I believe it’s getting three bets cold before the flop with hands will quickly become one of the most suc- worse. There is still money to be made out that were huge dogs to win, or were likely cessful gambling books of all time. of it, not quite as much as there used to be. to be heavily dominated. On Blackjack Most of the blackjack players I know right There were a couple of incidents that IG: Let’s turn to blackjack for a moment. now are struggling, but that may be more reminded me that I was not playing 3-6. In You prefer poker, but there are a lot of our of a function of short term luck than actual one case, a very wild player raised under readers who are blackjack players. Do you conditions. have anything you would say to them? the gun, and it was folded to me. I had IG: Do you ever do any recreational gam- MM: Well, the cuts are very important. pocket 8’s, and based on her play, I was bling or is it all serious? By that I mean do comfortably in front. Wanting to playing Generally, the cuts are more important you ever play a negative expectation than the rules. the pot heads-up, I re-raised. It was (as I game, just for the hell of it? had hoped) folded back around to her. She IG: So penetration is the name of the MM: Essentially no. stopped, looked at me... “You haven’t game? IG: You don’t like playing craps once in a played a hand in half an hour.” and folded. MM: Yes, penetration is the name of the while or... So, even the wilder players may be more game. However, there is a problem in the MM: No. I have no interest in that. Basi- attuned to the game around them.